News

TORONTO — Today, Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, issued the following statement in response to the impact of COVID-19 on publicly funded schools as March Break approaches:

The Council of Imams of Ottawa-Gatineau is closely monitoring local, national and international developments regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Due to concerns over the global spread of the coronavirus – especially in nearby Iran – Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended travel to its holy sites. Millions of Muslims visit the Saudi kingdom around the year for pilgrimage.

In the hours after the Christchurch mosque attacks on March 15 last year, I wrote that I hoped New Zealand would finally stop believing it was immune to far-right extremist violence. A year on, I’m not sure enough has changed.

Faisal Hassan, NDP MPP for York South-Weston, [introduced] a private member’s bill today that, if passed, would officially recognize June 25 to July 1 as Somali Heritage Week in Ontario.

As the world enters the third decade of the 21st century, it is waking up to a new reality, facing threats to international solidarity and human security that are not necessarily economic in nature.

The Court Challenges Program was at the heart of the latest scuffle between Ottawa and Québec. The program provides financial support to Canadians seeking to assert their constitutional language and human rights before the courts.

Ottawa, March 2, 2020 The Honourable Marco E.L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), issued the following statement [on Fraud Prevention Month]:

Starting in 2019, Ottawa's annual Muslim Family Conference, the I.LEAD Conference, launched iLEADx, a speech and talent competition for local Muslim youth by local Muslim youth, organized in a style similar to TEDx Talks.

Senator Kim Pate, journalist and human rights activist Desmond Cole, Executive Director Harsha Walia of the BC Civil Liberties Association, and CEO Chris Summerville of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, are among prominent names signed to an open letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford calling for an open, thorough and transparent investigation into the death of Soleiman Faqiri.

Muslim Family Services of Ottawa (MFSO) has launched the following letter campaign open to Muslims in Canada who wish to show solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation and Indigenous communities in Canada.

Saturday February 22 at 2:32 PM is the deadline to sign a petition to the Canadian House of Commons request it to condemn and request the withdrawal of the Government of India's Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens, and the National Public Register.

The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, [on February 18, 2020] introduced a Bill to amend the Citizenship Act to change Canada’s Oath of Citizenship.

One year after the Plante administration's refusal to deploy body-worn cameras for SPVM (Service de police de la Ville de Montréal) officers, a coalition of elected municipal representatives and community groups is returning to the table to demand the rapid implementation of body cams in the police department to effectively combat racial profiling. Ensemble Montreal will table a motion to this effect at the next Municipal Council session.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has [on February 3, 2020], recognized Edmonton resident, Aatif Baskanderi, as the Canadian award winner of the Commonwealth Points of Light in honour of his exceptional voluntary service advocating for community cohesion and interfaith understanding.

Austrian writer Peter Handke received the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature. The award is for “a writer’s life work,” and Handke has written novels, travelogues, theatre plays, screenplays and poetry.

When those with mental illness experience prejudice and discrimination in the form of stigma, it can make their suffering considerably worse.

The I.LEAD Conference, Ottawa's Annual Muslim Family Conference, is returning for another year running on March 21, 2020.

Representatives of Ottawa’s diverse community organizations are welcoming Thursday’s announcement that the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has relaunched its hate crimes unit.

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has reintroduced a section specifically focused on Hate Crimes, which will further enhance changes it made to its online reporting system that make it easier for residents to report hate-motivated incidents.